The Visa Story

I promised that I would explain what all happened with my visa in Turkey, so here goes:
Getting my visa renewal sorted out started out quite complex and then ended up being really simple. The biggest problem, I think, was that I am an American and they don't often (ever?) have Americans going through Turkey for visa renewals, esp. now that Americans can be in Ukraine for 90 days without a visa at all.
I spent a lot of time on the phone explaining that I live in Ukraine and actually do need a visa because I need to be here for more than 90 days at a time. Then we had issues about where I could renew my visa. There is a Ukrainian consulate in Antalya (where I was vacationing), but they don't do visas there. What they didn't tell me is that they can send the documents to Ankara (the capital of Turkey) and get the visa done at the embassy there. I spent a lot of time talking to the head guy at the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara before we figured out that I did not have to appear in person (enough time that he recognized my voice the next day on the phone), but could send my documents through the consulate in Antalya. It was a relief not to have to go to Ankara as I didn't really want to spend two night son the bus during the middle of my "vacation".
In the end, I took my documents in to the consulate in Antalya and gave them to the very helpful lady there who really had no clue about visas for Americans. I wasn't able to afford the multiple-entry visa that I normally get because of bank card issues and because of having to pay double to get it expedited, but I happily ended up with a double-entry one-year visa instead. I had to fight for that one as initially she had said that it wasn't possible to do more than a six-month double-entry visa. But thankfully, she called the guy at the embassy in Ankara and let him talk to me and he confirmed that it was indeed possible to have a one-year double-entry visa.
After that it was just a matter of filling out the forms, paying and sending up a prayer that God would protect my documents on the road and get them back to me in good time. As it happened, I turned my documents in on a Friday and that weekend was a Ukrainian holiday, so Monday was a day off, which pushed the processing of my visa to Tuesday, and there was some concern of my visa 9and passport) not making it back in time before I needed to leave early the next Friday. But God worked it all out and they actually got my visa back a day early.
It definitely ended up being a much more "exciting" visa renewal process than I had anticipated (or desired), but God kept reminding me the whole way through that whatever happened He was in control and I just needed to trust Him and His plan. Once I did, I was able to relax and enjoy my vacation.